Golf bags in which the various clubs used for play are arranged are either placed on a wheeled cart which the golfer pulls or are carried directly by the golfer using a carrying strap.
When the bag is placed on a cart, it lies in an inclined position in relation to the ground. The golfer takes out and replaces his clubs without difficulty during play.
However, not all golfers like to use a cart, and some prefer to carry their bag. When each shot is made, the bag must be placed horizontally on the ground, thereby making it difficult to take out the clubs and put them back.
Manufacturers have thus devised supports to hold the bag either vertically or slightly inclined in relation to the ground. Different types of supports are thus known in which two props are movable between a retracted, resting position and an extended position. In their retracted position, the props are positioned against the bag, while, in their extended position, they protrude and allow the bag to be held in an inclined position on the ground. The degree of the inclination of the bag depends on the length of the props.
This type of support is, for example, described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,064,052, which discloses a bag held on the ground by two small retractable props. This support definitely solves the problem of holding the bag in place, but exhibits a number of disadvantages, in particular that of not being automatic, since the user must manually move the props between their retracted and extended position, and. Moreover, the shortness of the props gives the bag an excessively inclined position, which makes it difficlt for the golfer to take out or put back his clubs.
To overcome these disadvantages, automatic supports incorporating longer props have been proposed. For example, the support disclosed in British Specification No. 2,098,075 may be mentioned. The support described therein comprises two retractable props jointed on a common shaft, whose movement into an extended position is controlled by a control device extending downward beyond the bottom of the bag. Thus, when the golfer places his bag on the ground, the control device in contact with the ground travels upward and causes the props to be brought into the extended position. This type of support proves only partially satisfactory, since the projecting control device beneath the bottom of the bag is especially bothersome. In fact, each time and in whatever position the golfer lays down his bag, the props deploy.